"The brainchild of the conductor Anthony Addison, (UCL's then Director of Music), University College Opera gave its first performance in 1951 with an all-student production of Purcell's ""Dido and Aeneas"", followed by Mozart's ""Bastien und Bastienne"". Even in its earliest years, the company's annual repertoire concentrated on rarely performed operas including: Nicolai's ""The Merry Wives of Windsor"" (1952), Bizet's ""Don Procopio"" (1955) and Lortzing's ""Der Wildschütz"" (1958). In 1961, the company staged its first UK premiere, Moniuszko's ""Halka"". During its first 17 years, UCOpera's performances took place in the old gymnasium at University College. With the opening of the college's"
"Venus and Adonis (opera) Venus and Adonis is an opera in three acts and a prologue by the English Baroque composer John Blow, composed in about 1683. It was written for the court of King Charles II at either London or Windsor. It is considered by some to be either a semi-opera or a masque, but ""The New Grove"" names it as the earliest known English opera. The author of the libretto was surmised to have been Aphra Behn due to the feminist nature of the text, and that she later worked with Blow on the play ""The Lucky Chance""."
"Didon (Piccinni) Didon (""Dido"") is a tragédie lyrique in three acts by the composer Niccolò Piccinni with a French-language libretto by Jean-François Marmontel. The opera is based on the story of Dido and Aeneas from Virgil's ""Aeneid"" as well as Metastasio's libretto ""Didone abbandonata"" (which Piccinni himself had set in 1770). ""Didon"" was first performed at Fontainebleau on 16 October 1783 in the presence of the French sovereigns, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. After being remounted at court twice, the opera had its Paris public premiere on 1 December 1783. It proved to be the composer's greatest success and was"
"conclusion, as the Queen of Carthage sings her last aria, ""When I am laid in Earth"", also known as ""Dido's Lament."" The chorus and orchestra then conclude the opera once Dido is dead by ordering the ""cupids to scatter roses on her tomb, soft and gentle as her heart. Keep here your watch, and never, never part."" The first complete recording of the opera was made by Decca Records in 1935 with Nancy Evans as Dido and Roy Henderson as Aeneas, followed in 1945 by HMV's release with Joan Hammond and Dennis Noble. Kirsten Flagstad, who had sung the role"
"to Metastasio's ""Didone abbandonata"" were not new to the London stage. Previous productions had included: Leonardo Vinci's ""Didone abbandonata"" (Royal Opera House, 1737); Johann Hasse's ""Didone"" (The King's Theatre, 1748); Vincenzo Ciampi's ""Didone"" (The King's Theatre, 1754); Baldassare Galuppi's ""La Didone abbandonata"" (The King's Theatre, 1761); Antonio Sacchini's ""Didone abbandonata"" (The King's Theatre, 1775); and Pasquale Anfossi's pastiche opera ""Didone abbandonata"" (The King's Theatre, 1786) The lead singers of Storace's opera were well known to London audiences. The celebrated German soprano, Elisabeth Mara, who sang the role of Dido, had made her London stage debut in 1786 in the title"
"as Aeneas, conducted by Theodore Thomas; the second, ""Les Troyens à Carthage"" (with cuts), was given in English on 26 February 1887 at Chickering Hall with Marie Gramm as Dido, Max Alvary as Aeneas, and possibly conducted by Frank Van der Stucken. The first staged performance of the whole opera only took place in 1890, 21 years after Berlioz's death. The first and second parts, in Berlioz's revised versions of three and five acts, were sung on two successive evenings, 6 and 7 December, in German at Karlsruhe (see Roles). This production was frequently revived over the succeeding eleven years"
"In a poem of about 1686, Tate alluded to James II as Aeneas, who is misled by the evil machinations of the Sorceress and her witches (representing Roman Catholicism, a common metaphor at the time) into abandoning Dido, who symbolises the British people. The same symbolism may apply to the opera. This explains the addition of the characters of the Sorceress and the witches, which do not appear in the original ""Aeneid"". It would be noble, or at least acceptable, for Aeneas to follow the decree of the Gods, but not so acceptable for him to be tricked by ill-meaning"
"in 1653. The story is set on the Greek island of Delos and focuses on Diana's love for Orion as well as on her rival, Aurora. Diana shoots Orion only after being tricked by Apollo into thinking him a sea monster—she then laments his death and searches for Orion in the underworld until he is elevated to the heavens. Johann Christian Bach ('the English Bach') wrote an opera, ""Orion, or Diana Reveng'd"", first presented at London's Haymarket Theatre in 1763. Orion, sung by a castrato, is in love with Candiope, the daughter of Oenopion, King of Arcadia but his arrogance"
"by throwing herself on a funeral pyre. Her Carthaginian subjects swear eternal revenge on Aeneas' descendants, the Romans. Notes Sources Didon (Piccinni) Didon (""Dido"") is a tragédie lyrique in three acts by the composer Niccolò Piccinni with a French-language libretto by Jean-François Marmontel. The opera is based on the story of Dido and Aeneas from Virgil's ""Aeneid"" as well as Metastasio's libretto ""Didone abbandonata"" (which Piccinni himself had set in 1770). ""Didon"" was first performed at Fontainebleau on 16 October 1783 in the presence of the French sovereigns, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. After being remounted at court twice, the"
"than in any former drama since the dissolution of the Royal Academy of Music in 1728.” The opera is scored for flute, two oboes, bassoon, two horns, strings, and continuo (cello, lute, harpsichord). Arianna in Creta Arianna in Creta (""Ariadne in Crete"", HWV 32) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Francis Colman from Pietro Pariati's ""Arianna e Teseo"", a text previously set by Nicola Porpora in 1727 and Leonardo Leo in 1729. The opera was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 26 January 1734 and then"
"Dido, Queen of Carthage (opera) Dido, Queen of Carthage was an opera in three acts by Stephen Storace. Its English libretto by Prince Hoare was adapted from Metastasio's 1724 libretto, ""Didone abbandonata"" (""Dido Abandoned""), which had been set by many composers. Storace's opera premiered on 23 May 1792 at The King's Theatre in London combined with a performance of his masque, ""Neptune's Prophecy"". The story is based on that of Dido and Aeneas in the fourth book of Virgil's ""Aeneid"". The opera was not a success and was never revived after its original run of performances. The score has been"
"extant. The Siege of Rhodes The Siege of Rhodes is an opera written to a text by the impresario William Davenant. The score is by five composers, the vocal music by Henry Lawes, Matthew Locke, and Captain Henry Cooke, and the instrumental music by Charles Coleman and George Hudson. It is considered to be the first English opera. Part 1 of ""The Siege of Rhodes"" was first performed in a small private theatre constructed at Davenant's home Rutland House in 1656. Special permission had to be obtained from the Puritan government of Oliver Cromwell as dramatic performances were outlawed and"
"and his men set sail for Italy. Notes Sources Didone abbandonata (Sarro) Didone abbandonata (""Dido Abandoned"") is an opera in three acts composed by Domenico Sarro to a libretto by Pietro Metastasio, which was based on the story of Dido and Aeneas from the fourth book of Virgil's ""Aeneid"". The opera premiered on 1 February 1724 at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples. ""Didone abbandonata"" was Metastasio's first original libretto, and Sarro's opera was the first of what were to be over fifty musical settings of the work. The opera premiered at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples on 1"
"Among Purcell's most notable works are his opera ""Dido and Aeneas"" (1688), his semi-operas ""Dioclesian"" (1690), ""King Arthur"" (1691), ""The Fairy-Queen"" (1692) and ""Timon of Athens"" (1695), as well as the compositions ""Hail! Bright Cecilia"" (1692), ""Come Ye Sons of Art"" (1694) and ""Funeral Sentences and Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary"" (1695). After his death, Purcell was honoured by many of his contemporaries, including his old friend John Blow, who wrote ""An Ode, on the Death of Mr. Henry Purcell (Mark how the lark and linnet sing)"" with text by his old collaborator, John Dryden. William Croft's 1724"
"The Siege of Rhodes The Siege of Rhodes is an opera written to a text by the impresario William Davenant. The score is by five composers, the vocal music by Henry Lawes, Matthew Locke, and Captain Henry Cooke, and the instrumental music by Charles Coleman and George Hudson. It is considered to be the first English opera. Part 1 of ""The Siege of Rhodes"" was first performed in a small private theatre constructed at Davenant's home Rutland House in 1656. Special permission had to be obtained from the Puritan government of Oliver Cromwell as dramatic performances were outlawed and all"
"John Blow John Blow (baptised 23 February 1649 – 1 October 1708) was an English Baroque composer and organist, appointed to Westminster Abbey in 1669. His pupils included William Croft, Jeremiah Clarke and Henry Purcell. In 1685 he was named a private musician to James II. His only stage composition, ""Venus and Adonis"" (ca. 1680–1687), is thought to have influenced Henry Purcell's later opera ""Dido and Aeneas"". In 1687 he became choirmaster at St Paul's Cathedral, where many of his pieces were performed. In 1699 he was appointed to the newly created post of Composer to the Chapel Royal. Blow"
"in 2004 and issued under the Naxos label in 2005. Notes Sources Rinaldo (opera) Rinaldo (HWV 7) is an opera by George Frideric Handel, composed in 1711, and was the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill, and the work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's Haymarket on 24 February 1711. The story of love, war and redemption, set at the time of the First Crusade, is loosely based on Torquato Tasso's epic poem ""Gerusalemme liberata"" (""Jerusalem Delivered""), and its"
"of ""Dido and Aeneas"" by Henry Purcell with the English Chamber Orchestra and Janet Baker. A 1964 performance of Mozart's Piano Quartet K.478 was filmed in London, with Benjamin Britten (piano), Emanuel Hurwitz and Cecil Aronowitz. Many reviews of his recordings are available in the Gramophone Archive. Terence Weil played an Amati and later a cello built by Domenico Montagnana that had belonged to Pablo Casals before. Terence Weil Terence Weil (9 December 1921 in London – 25 February 1995 in Figueras) was a British cellist, principal cellist of the English Chamber Orchestra, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble,"
"A revival of this play in 1692 included songs and dramatic scenes with music by Henry Purcell. Another well-known English version is Lord Byron's epic poem ""Don Juan"" (1821). ""Don Juans Ende"", a play derived from an unfinished 1844 retelling of the tale by poet Nikolaus Lenau, inspired Richard Strauss's orchestral tone poem ""Don Juan"". This piece premiered on November 11, 1889, in Weimar, Germany, where Strauss served as Court Kapellmeister and conducted the orchestra of the Weimar Opera. In Lenau's version of the story, Don Juan's promiscuity springs from his determination to find the ideal woman. Despairing of ever"
"Didone abbandonata (Albinoni) Didone abbandonata (""Dido Abandoned"") was an opera in three acts composed by Tomaso Albinoni. Albinoni's music (now lost) was set to Pietro Metastasio's libretto, ""Didone abbandonata"", which was in turn based on the story of Dido and Aeneas from the fourth book of Virgil's ""Aeneid"". The opera premiered on 26 December 1724 at the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice and was the first time that an opera based on a Metastasio libretto was performed in Venice. Metastasio's libretto was first set by Domenico Sarro, whose opera premiered at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples on 1 February"
"Josias Priest Josias Priest (""c."" 1645 – 3 January 1735 in Chelsea, London) was an English dancer, dancing-master and choreographer. In 1669, Priest was arrested along with four others for dancing and making music without a license. In 1668, he was a dancing-master in Holborn, and in 1675 he moved to Leicester Fields to run a boarding school for gentlewomen. In 1680 he started a similar school at Gorge's House in Chelsea, London. Here Priest hosted operas, including John Blow's ""Venus and Adonis"" (1684) and Henry Purcell's ""Dido and Aeneas"" (1689). It is widely believed that Priest choreographed dances for"
"Deidamia (opera) Deidamia (HWV 42) is an opera in three acts composed by George Frideric Handel to an Italian libretto by Paolo Antonio Rolli. It premiered on 10 January 1741 at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, London. A ballad opera on the same story by John Gay had been performed in London in 1733, under the title ""Achilles."" Handel's opera, a co-production with the Earl of Holderness, was first performed on 10 January 1741 at London's Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, but received only two more performances at a time when the public was becoming tired of Italian opera. The work was"
"The Voyage (opera) The Voyage is an opera in three acts (plus a prologue and an epilogue) by the American composer Philip Glass. The English/Latin/Spanish libretto was written by David Henry Hwang. The work was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, and first performed there on October 12, 1992 (that date being the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus discovering the Americas). The British premiere was in Leeds, England, performed by The City Of Leeds Youth Opera, with Johnathon Cliff and Mike Williamson as the directors, with Richard Pascoe playing Columbus. Glass did not want to create a biographical"
"The Duenna The Duenna is a three-act comic opera, mostly composed by Thomas Linley the elder and his son, Thomas Linley the younger, to an English-language libretto by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. At the time, it was considered one of the most successful operas ever staged in England, and its admirers included Samuel Johnson, William Hazlitt and Lord George Byron (Byron called it ""the best opera ever written""). First performed in the Covent Garden Theatre on 21 November 1775, ""The Duenna"" was performed seventy-five times in its first season, and was frequently revived in Britain until the 1840s. In total, 256"
"Énée et Lavinie (Dauvergne) Énée et Lavinie (""Aeneas and Lavinia"") is an opera by the French composer Antoine Dauvergne, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opéra) on 14 February 1758. It takes the form of a ""tragédie lyrique"" in five acts. It is a resetting of a libretto by Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, which was originally set by Pascal Collasse in 1690. The story is taken from the later books of Virgil's ""Aeneid"". Aeneas, fleeing the destruction of Troy, has arrived in Latium in Italy. The King of Latium wants to marry his daughter Lavinia"
"performed. It is occasionally considered the first genuine English opera, though that title is usually given to Blow's ""Venus and Adonis"": as in Blow's work, the action does not progress in spoken dialogue but in Italian-style recitative. Each work runs to less than one hour. At the time, ""Dido and Aeneas"" never found its way to the theatre, though it appears to have been very popular in private circles. It is believed to have been extensively copied, but only one song was printed by Purcell's widow in ""Orpheus Britannicus"", and the complete work remained in manuscript until 1840, when it"
"the Death of Purcell"" (1696). In 1700 he published his ""Amphion Anglicus"", a collection of pieces of music for one, two, three and four voices, with a figured bass accompaniment. John Blow John Blow (baptised 23 February 1649 – 1 October 1708) was an English Baroque composer and organist, appointed to Westminster Abbey in 1669. His pupils included William Croft, Jeremiah Clarke and Henry Purcell. In 1685 he was named a private musician to James II. His only stage composition, ""Venus and Adonis"" (ca. 1680–1687), is thought to have influenced Henry Purcell's later opera ""Dido and Aeneas"". In 1687 he"
"Énée et Lavinie (Collasse) Énée et Lavinie (""Aeneas and Lavinia"") is an opera by the French composer Pascal Collasse, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opéra) on 7 November 1690. It takes the form of a ""tragédie lyrique"" in a prologue and five acts. The libretto, by Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, is based on the later books of Virgil's ""Aeneid"". A new setting by the composer Antoine Dauvergne appeared in 1758. Aeneas, fleeing the destruction of Troy, has arrived in Latium in Italy. The King of Latium wants to marry his daughter Lavinia to Aeneas,"
"Didon (Desmarets) Didon is a tragédie en musique or opera in a prologue and five acts by librettist, Louise-Geneviève Gillot de Saintonge, and composer Henri Desmarets. The opera was heavily influenced by Jean-Baptiste Lully's ""Armide"" and the music of both Marc-Antoine Charpentier and Henri Dumont. ""Didon"" was premiered successfully by the Académie Royale de Musique at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris on 5 June 1693. The work was reprised on the following 11 September in the presence of Louis, Grand Dauphin, and revived again on the Paris stage in 1704 and 1705. On 10 July 1999 the first modern"
"in Luxembourg, Opéra national de Montpellier, and Sadler's Wells Theatre in London. In both the Morris and the Waltz adaptations, the characters are each portrayed by both a singer and a dancer, with the dancers onstage and the singers performing from the side of the stage or the orchestra pit. ""Dido's court"" The opera opens with Dido in her court with her attendants. Belinda is trying to cheer up Dido, but Dido is full of sorrow, saying 'Peace and I are strangers grown'. Belinda believes the source of this grief to be the Trojan Aeneas, and suggests that Carthage's troubles"
"Rinaldo (opera) Rinaldo (HWV 7) is an opera by George Frideric Handel, composed in 1711, and was the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill, and the work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's Haymarket on 24 February 1711. The story of love, war and redemption, set at the time of the First Crusade, is loosely based on Torquato Tasso's epic poem ""Gerusalemme liberata"" (""Jerusalem Delivered""), and its staging involved many original and vivid effects. It was a great success"
"Louise-Geneviève Gillot de Saintonge Louise-Geneviève Gillot de Saintonge (sometimes Sainctonge), born Gillot de Beaucourt, (1650 – 24 March 1718) was a French femme de lettres and celebrated librettist (a writer for the text of an opera or another work of music that contains lyrics). She was also the first woman to have a work performed at the Royal Academy of Music in France (""Didon"" the Dido). The daughter of Pierre Gillot de Beaucourt and Geneviève de Gomez de Vasconcelle, a novelist, playwright, and descendent of Portuguese nobility, Louise-Geneviève Gillot de Beaucourt married M. de Saintonge, a politician, and thus changed"
"turned several of his farcical comedies into musical entertainments with songs (music provided by Jean Baptiste Lully) and dance in the late 17th century. His ""Psyche"" was the model for an English opera by Thomas Shadwell, ""The Miser"" produced in 1672. Davenant produced ""The Tempest"" in 1667, which was the first Shakespeare plot set to music, and was then adapted by Shadwell into an opera in 1674 (composed by Matthew Locke and others). About 1683, John Blow composed ""Venus and Adonis"", often considered the first true English-language opera. Blow was followed by Henry Purcell and a brief period of English"